My dress needs a name.

When I was 17 years old, I would drive my bright purple Ford Escort from Woodland, Washington to Portland, Oregon almost every day. I was in love with the City, and everything in it. It was a completely different life. For those of you that grew up in small towns, I'm sure you can relate. I don't remember how my infatuation with the city began, but I know that when I was there, I thrived. I used to go to the Nordstrom on Broadway and play with all of the bright and sparkly makeups, and then cross the street to Pioneer square for an iced coffee. There is something about holding an expensive beverage in a crowd full of people that really makes you feel confident. Long before Christopher, there was a boy named Josh. Josh was much older than me, and very different. He always seemed to live in different houses with different roommates. He didn't have a car, he rode his bike everywhere. He worked at a tofu factory, and introduced me to vegan dishes that would have probably gone un-tasted by my palette for at least 2 more years. And then the day came, where he took me to the Holy Grail of thrift stores. Or, I took him rather, since I seemed to be his personal chauffeur most of the time. This place seemed like it was forever away, but once we got there, OH it was worth it. The Goodwill Bins. As soon as I stepped inside, angels wearing vintage dresses swooped down from the Heavens and started singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". I swear! There were rows, and rows, and rows of clothing-filled bins. Shoe-filled bins. Book-filled bins. Junk-filled bins. Bin-filled bins. Everything-filled bins. I think I passed an entire family of squirrels living in a bin once. And the best part about this wondrous place? Everything, was .29 cents a pound. Thank you God, for putting a little part of your beautiful Heaven right here on Earth for us to enjoy. Oh, the amazing things that I found. I think I spent maybe $5, and left with a bag full of treasures that would fill my closet with color and textures like no other. Sooner or later, Josh and I stopped spending time together. He was too ...I don't know, dirty(?), for me (even though he had an amazing Transformers tattoo). I needed a clean cut boy that could occasionally pay for my beer and cigarettes, rather than the other way around. And trust me, it was always the other way around. I bought meals, beer, cigarettes, movie rentals, everything. One night he called me up, and told me he wanted to take me out on a real date. Hot dog! So I got all dolled up, and headed out to the city. We're talkin', an entire can of Aquanet worth of dolled up. He said he wanted to take me to a movie. So I met him at The Avalon, which is a dollar theater on the south side. A cheap movie is better than nothing, and I could see that he was trying. Was being the keyword here. As soon as we got inside to see the movie, I realized that we were about to see a movie that I had already seen. After telling him this, he said he hadn't seen it, and went ahead and bought himself a ticket. Fine. It wouldn't be so bad to watch it again, right? We've all seen movies more than once. But... why didn't he buy me a ticket? Oh. Oh I see now. This is the kind of date where I drive myself to the dollar theater and have to buy my own cheap ticket to see a movie I've already seen! That's my favorite kind of date! So I fork over my buck, and head into the theater to watch this movie, again. I drove all the way to Portland ...for this? Ugh. By the end of the film, I'm thoroughly annoyed. He loads his bike into the back of my convertible Kia Sportage (the purple Escort got totaled, but we'll save that for another day), and we headed on our way. I figured he was going to buy me dinner, because he had previously said he wanted to take me on a date, and I knew the date part had to be coming sometime, right? Not even 5 minutes down the street, he asks me "So, do you wanna go back to my place and have sex?". Um. Did he seriously say that? ...Now, my good readers, are you thinking what I'm thinking? *SCREEEEECH* goes the car. To a complete stop. "Josh. Get out. Get your bike. Get out. And don't call me, ever". He just stares at me. Finally he says "...really?". Yes really, get out of my dang car!! And there I left him, on the side of the road, late at night, when the buses were no longer running. The one good thing that came from my 2 year on-again-off-again relationship with Josh, was the Bins. I would have later found out about the Bins anyways I'm sure, but I'm still grateful for all of my fabulous finds that would have gone un-touched. Among my favorite things, a blue button up dress. Oh this dress was killer. It was dark blue, navy blue (see Christopher, I used the word navy to describe a blue). It was trimmed with a white lace along the bottom, the straps, and the chest. It was accented with tiny white polka dots, and big blue buttons. It fit me like I was born to wear it. And wear it I did. I wore the hell out of it. It was sleeveless, so as soon as summer came, watch out city. I can't find any pictures of me in the dress, except for an old drivers license that I obviously am not going to show you, but trust me when I say that at the time, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. As I got a little bit older, my body changed, and one day all of the buttons popped off of the chest at the same time. I couldn't do anything but stand there and watch my buttons hit my hard wood floor. Each one clinked and clunked as they bounced off the floor and then eventually rolled to a complete stop. Damn this beautiful bust that I was blessed with. Rather than scoop all of the buttons up and sew them back on like many other people would have done, I declared my apartment floor as a temporary grave site for the garment, and moved on. Sometimes we don't realize how important an article of clothing can be, until we find something that reminds us of it later in life. I had completely forgotten about that blue dress until yesterday. I was shopping online for a new dress for this upcoming summer. I think that clothes are strongly linked with memories, and I need something to represent the summer of 2008. When I didn't find anything I adored elsewhere, I remembered an Etsy shop that I had marked as a favorite awhile back. http://www.janebonbon.etsy.com/. "Only beautiful clothes for everyone!" ...amen. The blue dress that I layed my eyes upon was not the spitting image of my long lost blue button up, but maybe a gorgeous cousin. Without hardly any begging, Christopher gave me the go ahead, and before I knew it, I had purchased my new summer companion. This one doesn't have buttons, so I don't think we'll have to deal with any projectile eye damaging button bullets. As soon as I get my new dress (maybe she needs a name?) in the mail, you'll be certain to come back and have a look? Because you know I won't be able to refuse a photo shoot to document the day we finally meet in person.

From top to bottom:
-"Ugly But Cute Vintage Sweater", The bins, worn by my best friend Kalii, $0.50.
-"Everything We Could Pile Onto Christopher", The bins, worn by Christopher, $6.00. (apologies for the terrible camera phone shot from way back when)
-"Pretty Blue Summer Spring Dress With Hearts", Janebonbon, $70.